trust | Revelations From The Road

What Do You Do?

July 19, 2017 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given July 2017

I like to watch the popular TV show Family Feud. The host, Steve Harvey, often asks a new family contestant as part of their introduction, “What do you do?” They usually answer by telling Mr. Harvey what they do for a living or what they do at home. Some of what people do is very interesting.

But, as usual, it made me think, what if the contestant answered, “I’m a Christian.” Steve Harvey might say, “Well, that’s nice but what do you do?” to which the contestant might reply, “Well uh, I go to church, I give in the offering and, uh, I pray some and read my Bible some.” So, would that be a very good answer of what a Christian does? Think about it.

So, what IS a Christian supposed to “do”?

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15)
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” And, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-40)
“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33)
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
Serve others “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)
Give, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” (Proverbs 3:27)
Be ready to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15) (Read and study your Bible.)
Be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
Think on the good things (Philippians 4:8)
Use your gifts. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: (1 Peter 4:10)
Share the Good News of Jesus Christ. “And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” (Mark 15:16) This includes us!

There are so many more things that we, as Christ followers, should be doing. I hope this will make us think and begin to, “Be doers of the Word”. (James 1:22)

Be specific!

July 14, 2017 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given July 2, 2017

Each morning I rise, go into the kitchen to make coffee then sit in my favorite chair for my time with God. Part of this time, of course, is reading my Bible. At our church, Zion Family Ministries, we do the Project 345 Bible Reading Plan which takes us through the 260 New Testament chapters each year, five days a week, 260 days. There is also a plan which adds the Old Testament, I do that at night.

The other morning, I was reading in Mark 10: 46-52 about the healing of Blind Bartimaeus and something stood out to me. When the blind man heard that Jesus was passing by, he called out to Him and Jesus stopped. He waited for Bartimaeus to be brought to Him and then He asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” Now, we know that Jesus knew what the man needed but He asked him anyway. Bartimaeus replied, “Lord, that I might receive my sight.” (v. 51). And Jesus granted his request. In this case, it was important for Bartimaeus to be specific. I’m sure he had other needs but being able to see was his greatest need and that’s what he asked for.

So, I thought about us as Christians. Are we praying specific prayers? God already knows what we need. Or are all our prayers pretty general? Are we praying daily at all? This concept has changed my prayer life. When I’m praying for something I need, I think of the very specifics of my need and ask for that. If someone asks me to pray for them, I want to know specifically what they need. An example would be, “Lord, heal my body.”, very general and God could answer that prayer all at once. Or how about this, “Lord, I want these floaters to be gone from my eyes and my sight to return to 20/20.”? Sometimes if we are not specific, how will we know if God answered our prayer? Now, when we’re praying for, “our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), it would be impossible to be specific for all the people in the world but this gives us something to think about as we pray. Be specific!

One more thought that came to me yesterday. As I was driving, praying and thinking about being specific, I thought, “What specifically do I need the most?” And then Matthew 6:33 came to my mind, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” That is specific. God wants me to put Him first in my life, give Him full control and trust Him to handle it. “Lord, help me to seek You and Your Kingdom first and I won’t have to be concerned about the rest of that stuff.”

Keep these things in mind the next time you pray and see what God speaks to you about.

Picture This – God Loves You

June 30, 2017 by Bill 2 Comments

Given May 2017

I read the seven scriptures below each morning as part of my devotion time. One morning, as I began reading, I suddenly had the idea that this could be viewed as a scene in a movie. Picture this in your mind as the scene unfolds:

In the first scene, you’re standing there with God and you say, “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” (Psalm 16:11). God nods His head and replies, “I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11). God puts His arm around you and says, “Let’s go.”

Then the scene changes to the apostle Paul speaking to a group of believers of which you are a part. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10). The crowd shouts, “Amen!” “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” (Philippians 2:13). You shout, “Amen!” “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28). The crowd exclaims, “Thank you Lord!” Then Paul ends his oration with this: “Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20). Paul asks, “Can I get a witness?” You and the crowd shout, “Glory to God, praise His name!”

Now the scene shifts to God and Jesus observing this assembly with smiles on their faces. God says to Jesus, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (John 10:10). They both nod their heads in agreement as the crowd, we, continues to praise and worship the goodness of God.

Can you see it? Are you in the crowd? Thank you Lord!

Hold On!

June 5, 2017 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given June 2013

I once saw a news report about serious flooding in a southern locality. The report was about a lady who had been caught up in a flooded river and carried downstream until she caught hold of a fallen tree branch near the bank until she was rescued. She held on to that branch for her life.

After seeing that news story, I got the vision of what may have happened after the rescue. While she was in the river, she was subjected to dirty, muddy water and trash flowing over and around her as she held on to the tree branch, and a heavy rain was pelting her as well. But I saw that, when she was rescued after holding on as she sat on the river bank, a gentle, cleansing rain began to fall washing all the filth of the flood from her. She raised her hands and head to take in the cleansing rain that now was welcome compared to the devastating torrent that she had just endured.

I guess God was showing me, and any who read this, that when we are immersed in a hard time in our lives, we must hold on to the promises of God. We must not give up but wait for our rescue. And once that happens, we will experience God’s cleansing Holy Spirit rain to wash us from the filth of the trial we’ve just endured. So, the lesson from this vision is, HOLD ON!

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” (Hebrews 10:23)

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.” (Isaiah 43:2)

Five Steps To Receiving

May 31, 2017 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given July 11, 2011

Too many times we pray and don’t receive what we asked for. Of course, God is sovereign and knows what’s best for us so sometimes the answer is “No” or “Not now”. But there are conditions which we control that have an effect on our receiving. Let’s look at five of them.

1. We must believe that God has the ability and resources. Is God able to do what we ask? “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19). He is able and He owns everything.
2. We must believe He will. A leprous man said to Jesus, “If you will, you can heal me?” Jesus replied, “I will, be clean.” (Matthew 8:2-3). Jesus is the same today as He was then, He will.
3. We must believe that we are the recipient. We are God’s children and He loves us. “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” (Psalm 23:5). “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus: that we may receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.” (Galatians 3:14). If we are Christians, we have been redeemed and are heirs to the promise.
4. We must believe this so much that we don’t doubt or worry but get excited. A double-minded man “should not think he will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:7). “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt,” (James 1:6). If you really believe something good is going to happen, you will look for it expectantly and excitedly.
5. When we believe, we won’t sit back and wait for God to drop the answer on us but we do what’s necessary to take it. “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Matthew 11:24). That word “receive” is an action word that could be translated “take”. Part of that is how we speak from our hearts. “God.. who calleth those things which be not as though they were.” (Romans 4:17). Aren’t we supposed to be like God? Let’s start putting these five principles into practice and begin receiving what God has in store for us.